Change Your Brain to Deal with Intense and Challenging Times

Connecting.

Hi, my name is Theresa, and joining me is Rick Reynolds. And I'm going to say that again because now we are getting ready to stream live on Facebook very, very soon. Very important work. Technology, awesome sauce, especially when it works. Not so much when it doesn't work. What I want to talk about today is what we're facing in the world and everything that's going on, a lot of my clients, a lot of my friends, a lot of people that I work with have been incredibly frustrated, having difficulty. These are very uncertain times and they're very triggering, very activating, and not necessarily in a good way. In my work, I see a lot of people who have activated their fight, flight, or freeze, and it's creating stress and dramatics and anger and anxiety and worry. And this is a huge concern for me. Rick is one of the people that I trust the most, that I feel is an absolute expert on the subject of helping us change our brains, shift. One of his programs is Shifting from Fear to Freedom. And Rick is somebody that I adore. He's a master hypnotherapist, and I don't even know all of your qualifications. There's so many of them. But we're just going to open this conversation today and talk about how to change your brain, especially with what's going on.

And, you know, no one knows more in my life about changing their brain than you. You know, that you have just an incredible story of coming back from a traumatic brain injury and restructuring your brain. And I've watched you, you know, through the time that we've known each other, come fully back from such a place. So I couldn't be more happy than to share this experience with you and to talk about how we can all change our brains and get through these very challenging times that we're in as a whole, all of us together.

That's an interesting point. Like, if If we could bottle what I've learned from having to heal from traumatic brain injury and, and what you've learned, um, from helping people shift their energy and change their lives from Sedona Soul Adventures and all the other places that you're doing it, um, imagine what that world could look like. People could access that, that better part of themselves. And, um, yeah, wow, I need a bottle. I need a bottler. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that, that's kind of the vision behind everything that we're doing is like making the world a better place by helping people stay in their higher, wiser mind. Yeah, just like amazing that we can do that to get to a place of being in that wise part of who we are.

Hey, can I ask you a question?

Sure.

Why do you think people don't do that? Why do you think we end up struggling or living in anxiety or worry or fear? Why do you think we choose it? Do you know?

I think it's the pattern that we are born into, that our ancestors lived past generation to generation to generation, that we become hardwired to access that fight or flight. The fear part of who we are, that fear is 10 times more powerful, it seems, than any positive thing. So it's welcome to being human. Welcome to planet Earth. But we are evolving. And now we have the tools and the technology to actually grow neural pathways in our brain to the highest, wisest, parts of who we are. And when we do that, everything changes.

So you and I have been involved in Positive Intelligence, a program based on the work of Sharmaine— Shirzad Sharmaine. Pardon my brain. Shirzad Sharmaine. And we have found that it really has shifted things For both of us. But would you talk a little bit about how we landed in that program, how we learned in that training?

Well, you introduced it to me. You found it, reached out, and shared it with me. And, you know, it really intrigued me the moment that you started talking about Changing something in the brain, actually growing the neural pathways. And what excited me about this program, you know, he's written a book called Positive Intelligence and talks about the ability of all of us to—

Yes.

To grow the neural pathways to the higher brain. And I know that, you know, about changing the brain. I know about neuroplasticity. And, and all of that, and that it is possible. I just didn't know how to do it. And I know that in my work, I'm creating new neural pathways and people are having wonderful insights and breakthroughs, but then they come back into the stuck pattern, right?

Mm-hmm.

So it's like, and myself, I'm still hooked into the fear. triggered by life events. How do I stop being triggered? And, and it basically— Shirzad says you need more neuropathways to hold the connection, that it's like a muscle and you just need to build that muscle and then you'll be able to do it. And that just made tons of sense to me. And I was an instant, yes, I want to do this. Let's go in. Let's Let's form our little group to support one another and do his incredible 6-week program. And what was it like for you to dive into the program?

Oh my gosh. So one of the things that I had to do when I was healing the brain injury was figure out how to get out of those negative pathways, because when I would get into those pathways, they would create that anxiety and that fear. And as I talk about in my TED Talk, that would stop me from healing. And so, I had to heal my brain. And every time I went down into the crazy, my crazy, no labels, or the brokenness, it would stop me from healing. And so, I had to create my own practices and methodology and ways to shift my pathways over and over and over. So I had to shift and I had a big SPECT scan and fMRI looking at all the damage that my brain had had. And when I saw this program and in 6 to 8 weeks, you can change your gray matter. It took me 2 years, 2 years and new brain cells.

Really?

And the fMRI studies showed you could shift your thinking, not just shift your thinking like, yes, for a day. Yeah, I'm gonna feel good right now. But like, oh my gosh, over time. And that was really what got me. It is all the work that I had to do separately and now there is a way to do it. And Rick and I were lucky enough to be on the beta version of the app because there is an app for that. We will talk about that. But having that daily accountability for me, I was in. I was so in.

Yeah, yeah. And the timing of this couldn't have been more perfect. Perfect. We want dove into this interesting program, and the whole world changed around us. The COVID crisis set in; the shutdowns came on. Everybody was in more stress. Our lives were more stressed than we had anticipated when we said, "Oh, let's grow our gray matter. Let's change our neural pathways." And you know, and Shirzad is leading this. Like first group through his program in this particular way. And every week it's getting crazier and crazier in the outside world and fear is rising. And we're finding a way to stay centered, to stay grounded, to see opportunity amidst the crisis, to embrace the blessings of everything that is coming our way. I like— it was a lifesaver. I, I can't think of a more stressful time in my life, maybe all of our lives, you know, unless we lived through World War II. You know, when on the planet had this many people been facing potential life and death crisis that would change Everything for a while.

I love, and I want to get to what you noticed when you were doing the Positive Intelligence program. But the, the other pieces, the first section is that we were able to identify our saboteurs. And there's an assessment, and I will share a link for you to, anyone who's interested that wants to take this. And it's a way of outlining these things that you just think might be part of you and the ways that you think that aren't working. But when you start to look at what sabotaging thoughts you have, what self-sabotage behavior you have, then you can actually shine the light on it. The enemy that you can't see is probably the most dangerous. And so in learning what our saboteurs were, then we could start learning how to shift it. And I have to be honest, The way that Rick went to looking at his saboteurs and shifting into another mindset and the things that he's created out of doing that blow my mind. So do you, would you share like what your saboteurs are and what you created in this crazy pandemic time?

Yeah, yeah. So, you know, in a way, saboteurs are something I've been working with, with clients. For 17 years. I didn't have the vocabulary that we learned in this to describe, but the idea of identifying a voice, making fun of it, giving it a silly name is something I've been doing with clients for years. So it was easy to do. And I took the assessment and found that, ah, to no surprise, the silent saboteur for me is the avoider. It doesn't say anything. It just avoids. Avoids conflict mainly at all costs. And simply, you know, the way I hear it, my, my saboteur just says, sure. Someone says, do you want to do this? Do you want to do that? Sure.

Sure.

Like, sure is not yes. And so in gaining the strength, uh, to quiet that saboteur meant for me saying no a lot. And then I could come back around and say yes when I really meant it. So using my nos to find a yes was a big part of that. And silencing that and a victim voice. Boy, I think so many of us have that voice that, cuz we were rewarded at times in our life for being the victim and, oh, isn't it awful? Oh, poor me. And you receive sympathy and understanding and love from others. So it seemed like all these saboteurs They, they try to convince you they're your friends and that you should pay attention to them and that you should use them because there's a bit of a reward. But in the long run, it's very disempowering and people get fed up with hearing your victim voice. And it's not true. I mean, I am a powerful, amazing soul. I'm not a victim of anything. Silence that and step into that higher, wiser part. So, you know, we learn how to identify The, the voice, call it out, and then shift into what he calls the sage mode. And that's where the magic begins. And I love taking people through the program. It's like the first few weeks are a little rough. We're looking at your saboteurs because they are suddenly everywhere, all the time.

The judge?

Yes. Now, how did the judge show up for you?

Oh my God. So I kept thinking, I don't have that much of an inner critic. I'm pretty— I'm easier on myself. But then I started realizing I judge circumstances and people in my head. And when we did exercises and experiences showing us how the judge showed up— so there's 3 different modes: self-judge, judge of others, and judge of circumstances— I saw myself rolling my eyes. How often? A thing would happen or someone would do or say a thing and my face would do this, ugh. And oh my God, it reminded me so much of part of the ways that I saw my dad handle things in our lives growing up. And I'm like, oh my God, I have the pattern. Ah! And it was so insidious, I didn't even see it. And then—

Right.

The eye roll and scoffing, ugh. That was totally a judge, and I had seen it growing up, and I had taken it on without ever stopping. And I'm talking, I have a background in social work and psychology, and I've been looking at my own crap for 20, 25 years, right? I never saw that.

Yep. And suddenly it's everywhere. I think that's everyone that I've coached through the program. They're like, I can't escape it. My judge is everywhere. Rick, what did you do to me? Now I can see it.

I was so happy before. No, you really weren't happy.

Right. And then about 3rd, 4th week into the program, we shift to working with our Sage Powers. And that was when the magic showed up for me personally, was like, wow, that looking at everything as a gift. Which that's one of my core belief work, but centerpiece of the core belief work I do with people is find the blessing in everything that goes on in your life. Find the gift. You are a living example of finding the gift, you know, and what you have been through. So that, that's hugely powerful. And here we were met with the biggest crisis that we've all faced as a world.

Yeah.

And being able to use that and a skill that he calls Innovate, the Innovator, which is playing a little brainstorming game of saying yes and agreeing with 10% of whatever is presented to you and then expanding upon that. And I took the yes and, and played with ideas. What could I do? Okay, we can't do retreats the way that we normally work because people aren't here. Maybe we could bring them to people and do at-home retreats. Maybe we could interview masters and do a podcast. Maybe we could do this. Maybe we could do that. Like, ideas were flooding through me, and suddenly what had become a crisis became a big opportunity. And I knew with a certainty that come the fall, whether we're still in COVID or not, I would be busier than I had ever been. And now here we are, the fall, and it's like, what time is it? When is my next client? Finding time just to do this. Wow. I am incredibly busy doing this amazing work, helping so many people that, that need it, and then being able to turn around and share this. And watch that this is a system that anybody can do and step into their higher brain and their wiser self. What, what have you done from your sage wisdom since going through the program?

Um, I have started teaching, uh, these movement videos on Facebook and YouTube. And it was a way of me innovating how to give back at this time, teaching people some self-defense moves, some boxing moves, and just getting into that brain space, getting into that right brain, getting into that sage brain, even just for 10 minutes in a day. And that was not something I'd done before. I also had to come up with and get creative, innovate new ways of teaching self-defense because people weren't doing— haven't been doing workshops. As they had been. So I had to come up with new things. And Rick, you were so inspirational in that, the way that you innovated. And I'll let you talk about it, the podcast, the way that you're like, first of all, an avoider wants to avoid all this stuff. And you're like, right, I don't know, I've never done a podcast, but I'm going to create one. You were just so inspiring to me every, every week, all the time. that I kept looking at, that inspiration fed me like, okay, what else could I do? How else could I give back? How else could I make a difference? And part of it is offering the program that you and I are putting together.

Yeah. So let's talk about what that is because it's super exciting, you know, that as students of positive intelligence and we're being certified as coaches, official coaches of Mental Fitness, his, his program. We're able to take people through his program, add our own tools and resources to it, and give it to people at a huge discount over what he charges them. I such— because his mission is to get this work out to as many people as possible. To create a world in which we are in our sage brains more than our sabotaging brains, right? That the more people are operating from the frontal cortex of their brain, the better the planet is going to be. And how can we turn around and make that happen? Well, we can take our clients, our friends, our family, our coworkers, our acquaintances, our Facebook friends and introduce them to this simple program that can change their lives and pass it on and begin raising the vibration and the frequency of the entire planet. So tell us about the program.

So it's a 7-week program. It is included— there's an app included, and in the app you will learn how to do what's called PQ reps. What are called PQ reps And it helps to get you into that side of your brain. It really just takes 10 seconds. And this is one of my favorites, uh, of just exquisitely rubbing your fingers together so you can feel the ridges and it can help you shift out of that stress part of your brain. Uh, another one Rick is doing is this, which I absolutely love. And this is one of my other favorites too. I'm very tactile, I've noticed. So you learn all of these different ways to get into mindfulness. And we offer group coaching on Sundays. Our program starts November 8th. And you would be coaching with both Rick and I in a group, pod group or pod groups, and we'll walk you through the program. You'll get a chance to look at your saboteurs. You'll get a chance to understand how they interact with your life and with the lives of others. By the way, your saboteurs are showing up in other places. And then we're going to help coach you how to get that self-command, that ability to switch your brain from negative to positive thinking, negative to positive, negative to positive. Life doesn't happen in insight. Life doesn't happen in reading a book. That's 20% of being able to shift. Doing a practice or creating practices, especially at this time, is imperative. And that's really what we've created.

And we're working with Shirzad, so you will receive a video from him on your app every week that instructs you through and gives you a focus and kind of follows the course of his book, which you also get the first 8 chapters of his book in this as well. And you really learn the art of turning off the self-sabotage and tapping into the higher wisdom week after week after week until you get it down. And, you know, it's just like training for a marathon. You can't do it all at once. But by the end of the program, you're climbing mountains. You have enough skill to notice a dramatic shift in your life.

And Rick is fond of saying this work is the missing link. This is the missing link between what we have both doing, all my work in Empower and teaching people how to own their power, Rick's vast work in teaching people how to empower their lives and reduce the fear and move into freedom. This program accesses all of our work and is the missing link to what we can bring into the world. So I hope that you'll join us. I'll put a link in the comments. And wow.

Wow. I am so excited to share this with you. You know, for my friends that don't know Theresa, and put, put in the link too if we can, A link to your TED Talk, because your story is incredible. She takes on the inner bully, which is the main saboteur ripping us apart, the self-critic, the self-judge, and how to take on that voice, get rid of that voice inside of you. And that is what this Program is going to do is help keep that out and it is going to help, you know, I teach shifting core beliefs, but how do you stay in the new belief?

Right.

You know, you need a little more gray matter to stay in that place, to, to, to be the wise being that you learn you can be through all the work that we do with people. They have a taste of how life can be, and then they struggle because they don't have the muscle to stay there. And now we can give them the brain muscle to stay in that place. So—

I love it.

Join us.

Thank you, Rick. Join us. And, um, and thank you, Rick, for everything you're doing in the world. And If you guys can't tell, we, we are big fans of each other as well. So yes, please join us and enjoy your day. And I know Rick's got clients lined up right after another because why? He created that. He's innovated all kinds of busy.

Thank you.